Monday, April 15, 2013

There is so much going on in the studio the next few weeks. Some of which I am so excited to share with you, but I am sworn to secrecy...I know it's driving me crazy too, but surprises are fun, right?! If you follow along on instagram, you can probably guess that I am working on pulling together some major orders and shipments and that has kept us pretty darn busy around here. As always, though, necessity brings forth new and fun ideas and we have been having a ball with our packaging. From pin back buttons, to beautiful letterpress and newly imaged moo cards, every shipment that has left the studio has been full of new surprises just for you. I pulled together some images of the fun we've been having with packaging. A special shout out to Lilikoi Design and Letterpress for the stunning new business cards!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

My favorite aspect of being a designer is trying out new things. Of course it helps to have a dedicated and loyal following to give you the guts to keep on bringing those new ideas to fruition! Our customers are simply the best and you all drive me to keep Zelma Rose fresh and full of new designs.

The Zodiac Constellation Cross Stitch Necklace has been one of our most popular items since it's introduction last year. I hear feedback from customers that they love the unique design and our own spin on each constellation. I have been working for a while on finding a way to expand the Zodiac Constellation Collection and of course had a long list of ideas, parameters, and wishes for how to do so, many brought forth by our customers. After some work, and a lot of play, what materialized was a smaller version, behind glass, with an original hand drawn illustration.

Part of my mission as a designer is to offer something unique that our customers can make their own. I love our Cross Stitch Zodiacs because while there is a general pattern for each constellation, no two are exactly alike. Each is stitched by hand, making every single necklace different and unique. In expanding the Zodiac Collection it was really important to me to keep that promise. I couldn't think of a better way to offer the same unique design to every customer than to represent the Zodiac Constellation with an original hand drawn illustration. Each and every new Zodiac Constellation Necklace begins with an original hand drawn illustration of your zodiac sign. Much like our Cross Stitch Zodiac Necklaces, each constellation design is inspired by the starry sky surrounding our Northern California studio. Large stars are interpreted with dots and arrows, giving each constellation that unique Zelma Rose touch. I draw each sign on high quality black paper and set them behind thick glass into an antique brass setting. The finished look is modern, graphic, and a bit rustic. I love the look that the thick glass gives to each necklace. Almost like every illustration is under the microscope.

Currently you can find the new Zodiac Constellation Collection for sale on our website and soon to follow at one of our beloved stockists. I'm really happy with the results and would love to hear what you think!

Monday, April 8, 2013

We have been busy working on some new surprises over the weekend. Zelma rose is going to be popping up in all sorts of places over the next few months. In anticipation of some fun, I am happy to announce that we are now on tumblr! You can look forward to many images to come of the tools I use around the studio as well as the mountains and land inspiring our designs. I hope you will follow along as I give you a behind the scenes look at what makes Zelma Rose so very NorCal.

Friday, April 5, 2013

I love green. Pretty much every shade, and living in Northern California, we are surrounded by green for the better part of the year. Tree lined mountains, red woods, and rolling hills are all part of our year round landscape. I was excited of course when Pantone announced that Emerald was the color of 2013. Emerald is such a rich and bright green and really represents well the lush spring shades we see in the Bay Area this time of year. For this week's style file, I pulled together some of my favorite emerald finds to bring that Bay Area brightness to your day.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

A few months or so ago, I was asked by Emily & Megan of Enjoy Events Co. to create something special for their event planning class gift bag. I was thrilled, of course, and I just love new projects, so when it came time to design something just for the occasion I was excited to get to work. I could think of no better gift for event planners than their very own cake topper! Inspired by the Wed & Roses full size bow wedding cake topper, I set to work designing a small scale version just for Enjoy Events Co. I just wrapped the project up last night and will be delivering the toppers this Friday. I snapped a few shots yesterday before packaging them up. I'm really happy with the results and can't wait to see what the whole set looks like on top of a really big cake! I have decided to include the mini bow cake topper as part of the Wed & Roses Collection over on Etsy. You can look for them for sale within the next week.

Monday, April 1, 2013

A few weeks ago, I received a delightful email from the crew over at Martha Stewart. Every time this happens I go a little bit crazy. I'm all team Martha and am in awe of her as a business woman and a creative. She's amazing. Okay, gush fest over. Part of the exciting news from Martha was that she has created an American Made Instagram feed where MSLO features makers from across the country, with as much of their story as a hashtag will allow. I was asked to send a photo and keep them updated as to the adventures of Zelma Rose. No problem! Being in the feed has been a lot of fun. I've seen some of my friends and fellow makers in there too over the past weeks, which always feels good, and I am discovering a bunch of new artisans via American Made Story.

If you haven't already, head on over to American Made Story and follow along. And if you don't already follow Zelma Rose, check out our feed for lots of studio shots, works in progress and photo shoot behind the scenes.

About Me

Zelma Rose is known for our wanderlust inspired goods in prints and patterns that evoke our deep love of nature. Entirely handcrafted from needlework artist Lisa Anderson Shaffer's original patterns, each premium Zelma Rose design is made to order in our mountainside studio right here in Fairfax, California.